Cars were forced to turn around and change route as a group of angry protesters set barricades alight on two busy Grahamstown roads on Friday 12 June.
Cars were forced to turn around and change route as a group of angry protesters set barricades alight on two busy Grahamstown roads on Friday 12 June.
The protesters stood in the middle of Dr Jacob Zuma Drive, singing and burning tyres and furniture.
They also closed the busy Hlalani taxi route with concrete blocks and rocks.
This followed a heated protest in front of the city hall on Wednesday, where Hlalani residents had called for mayor Zamuxolo Peter and Ward 7 councillor Malibongwe Khubalo to step down from their positions.
Residents from the area had been complaining about poor service delivery.
When Grocott's Mail arrived at the scene in the afternoon police and traffic officers had blocked off Dr Jacob Zuma Drive. Traffic officers directed vehicles on to alternative routes as police remained on the scene to prevent violence.
Grahamstown police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said no injuries or incidents of violence had occurred during the fiery protest. She said police and traffic officials were monitoring the situation.
"Nobody was arrested for public violence or anything like that," she said.
Acting municipal spokesperson Mandisi Planga said he was surprised at the action because in Wednesday's march to the city hall, a decision had been taken to postpone further protests until next week.
Planga said during a meeting with protesters earlier today, he had approved their protest for next Thursday.
"I don't understand why they are protesting now… I have arranged for the mayor to be there [ext Thursday]to accept their petition," he said.
Planga said he had been told that the protest had stopped just after 4pm on Wednesday and the roads were being cleared.
In Friday 12 June's print edition Grocott's Mail reported that furious Hlalani residents had take their anger over service delivery to the city hall this week, demanding that Peter and Khubalo step down from their positions.
The protesters stood in front of the building for about an hour, saying they would have only Peter accept their petition.
They were complaining about the lack of services and infrastructure in the area. They said they'd had enough of the pit toilets provided to them by the municipality.
They also complained of dirty water and the poor state of the roads in the area.
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